My brother is an NBA superstar and I won a title too – but I stopped coming back home after I was released

KOSTAS Antetokounmpo’s NBA journey seems to be over, at least for the time being.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother is reportedly returning to Greece to play for Panathinaikos.

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Kostas became the first of the four Antetokounmpo brothers to win an NBA championship, triumphing with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Orlando bubble in 2020.

But individually, he hasn’t been nearly as successful as Giannis — a two-time MVP and seven-time All-Star who led the Bucks to the 2021 title.

Just like his older brother, Kostas got his first steps in basketball at Filathlitikos in the Greek third division.

But unlike the Bucks star, the 6-foot-1 forward played varsity basketball in the United States before entering the NBA draft.

Kostas averaged 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 29 games for Dayton in 2017-18.

The Dallas Mavericks then selected the Greek with the last pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.

However, Kostas spent most of his rookie season in the G League, playing for Dallas’ affiliate team – the Texas Legends.

The same fate awaited him after signing with the Lakers the next year, as the forward played 37 games for the South Bay Lakers at the start of the 2019-20 season.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic brought the NBA – and the entire world – to a complete standstill.

When the league resumed in the Orlando bubble, invited teams were able to bring expanded rosters.

The rule change allowed Kostas to join the title-oriented Lakers, earning him a championship ring despite not playing a single minute in the playoffs.

Kostas played just 15 games for the Lakers the following season – and has since played mostly in Europe, in addition to a brief stint with the Windy City Bulls in the G League

With ASVEL he won the 2021/22 French championship alongside Victor Wembanyama.

Most recently he played for Fenerbahce in Turkey and the EuroLeague.

Kostas is set to return to Europe for the foreseeable future after reportedly signing a two-year deal with Panathinaikos.

And he is faced with great expectations at home.

Panathinaikos have lost back-to-back titles to bitter rivals Olympiakos, leading to their fans hurling smoke bombs onto the pitch last June while the Antetokounmpo brothers stood in the stands.

Anything less than the 40th championship will likely be counted as a failure for the Athens-based team.